SD Man To Plead Guilty In Grudge Killing

A 73-year-old South Dakota man accused of fatally shooting his long-ago classmate is expected to plead guilty but mentally ill to a second-degree murder charge at a Tuesday afternoon hearing.

Carl Ericsson has been charged in the Jan. 31 killing of retired Madison High School teacher and track coach Norman Johnson. Johnson was shot twice in the face after answering his door.

An arrest affidavit suggests the incident might have been sparked by a decades-old grudge stemming back to when Johnson and Ericsson were students at Madison High.

Ericsson pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge in February and requested a jury trial. But defense attorney Scott Bratland and Lake County State's Attorney Kenneth Meyer announced May 1 that a deal had been reached.